A History of the Vampire in Popular Culture by Violet Fenn;

Author:Violet Fenn;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: SOCIAL SCIENCE / Popular Culture
Publisher: Casemate Publishers & Book Distributors, LLC
Published: 2021-05-12T00:00:00+00:00

Katherine:

‘It doesn’t make any difference.’

Viago:

‘No. They can call me cradle snatcher, who cares?’

The innocence with which the pair discuss their love for each other – glossing over the fact that he has had to kill her in order to keep her with him, and that murder is just a way of life – is light-hearted and joyful, with an innocence rarely found in the outside world (another example of turning dark and light in on themselves to brilliant effect can be found in Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride – not discussed here because it’s not a vampire movie, it is nevertheless a must-see for anyone who likes their romance dark and fantastical).

In contrast, Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Taylor’s morals are almost her undoing on many occasions. The hero of MaryJanice Davidson’s ‘Undead’ series, Betsy’s story starts when, in the first book Undead and Unwed, she gets hit by a car on her thirtieth birthday and wakes up dead. Betsy has been pissed off about it ever since, mostly because she didn’t ask to be Queen of the Vampires – the title was thrust upon her before she knew what was happening. As were the attentions of her ‘husband’, Eric Sinclair (who she likes to call Sink-lair, just to wind him up). While undoubtedly traumatised by her inability to stay awake in the daytime or change her hairstyle (however much Betsy styles it, it has always returned to its original state when she wakes up the next evening), this is a portrayal of a modern woman who isn’t going to let a minor detail such as being dead – and a vampire, to boot – get her down.

No coffins and secrecy for this babe – Betsy lives in a mansion with her two best friends and is open with her family about her newly undead state (some relatives cope with this news better than others). What Betsy hasn’t quite managed during her transformation is to let go of her idealistic approach to other humans (or animals). When she discovers a group of feral vampires who have been abandoned by her arch-nemesis, she ignores pleas by those around her to destroy them and instead determines to reintegrate them into society. This involves teaching one of them to knit (and occasionally letting him drink from her wrist). The Fiends, as she affectionately calls them, pay her back by killing one of her closest friends, but Betsy still can’t bring herself to blame them – after all, they’re simply following their natural urges. She also doesn’t like the idea of feeding from humans, so makes a point of trying to only attack those who somehow ‘deserve’ their fate. A one-woman vampire vigilante team, Betsy prowls dark alleyways on the lookout for would-be rapists and murderers – and she always does it in heels.

‘There’s worse things out here tonight than vampires.’

‘Like what?’

‘Like me.’

Eric Brooks, aka ‘Blade’

Eric Brooks is a half-vampire vigilante, better known as Blade. Based on the Marvel Comics superhero, Blade is what is commonly known as a dhampyr – the hybrid child of a male vampire and female human.

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